Design of micro-hole array for fixing ultra-thin membrane in tensile tests based on fluid analysis

One of the biggest challenges for measuring the tensile characteristics of the human inner limiting membrane (ILM) is the fixation of the ILM sample. As the thickness of ILM is only a few micrometers, traditional fixation method using clips is not applicable. Thus, we introduce a fixation method of using microflow to suck the ultra-thin membrane at micro-hole array. We analyzed the fluid condition and designed the micro-hole array for effective, convenient and repeatable fixation. At last, we fabricated the clamp unit with micro-hole array and conducted tensile tests of the ultra-thin membrane.